networkbasics

We are truly in an information society. Now more than ever, movingvast amounts of information quickly across great distances is one ofour most pressing needs. From small one-person entrepreneurialefforts, to the largest of corporations, more and more professionalpeople are discovering that the only way to be successful in the '90sand beyond is to realize that technology is advancing at a break-neckpace---and they must somehow keep up. Likewise, researchers from allcorners of the earth are finding that their work thrives in anetworked environment. Immediate access to the work of colleaguesand a ``virtual'' library of millions of volumes and thousands ofpapers affords them the ability to encorporate a body of knowledgeheretofore unthinkable. Work groups can now conduct interactiveconferences with each other, paying no heed to physicallocation---the possibilities are endless.

You have at your fingertips the ability to talk in ``real-time'' withsomeone in Japan, send a 2,000-word short story to a group of peoplewho will critique it for the sheer pleasure of doing so, see if aMacintosh sitting in a lab in Canada is turned on, and find out ifsomeone happens to be sitting in front of their computer (logged on)in Australia, all inside of thirty minutes. No airline (or tardis,for that matter) could ever match that travel itinerary.

The largest problem people face when first using a network isgrasping all that's available. Even seasoned users find themselvessurprised when they discover a new service or feature that they'dnever known even existed. Once acquainted with the terminology andsufficiently comfortable with making occasional mistakes, thelearning process will drastically speed up.